Catholic Leadership

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by Danzig

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37954415...d_news-europe/



sorry, a priest or biship deserves no different treatment from anyone else suspected of committing a crime.

I would go further and state they deserve harsher treatment because of the violation of trust; similar to a policeman using his badge to commit crimes.

IMO The problem the church is currently having was brought on by itself. The recruiting of new priests was dwindling badly in the 50's. The church was taking anyone, not just the devoted (called as they say). Because going in 'candidates' knew they would not be allowed to marry the job naturally appealed more to homosexual men (who at that time had no hope of marriage and little hope of a long-term relationships) besides the decision to become a priest was applauded by parents and family. Of those priests a small portion were child molesters as well as homosexual. With these men then in a position of power and trust over adolescent boys a ticking time bomb was activated that could not be stopped. The problem snow balled and the church in an effort to avoid bad publicity and thus falling donations swept it under the rug.

The homosexual/child molesting priests can be found and eradicated. The greed of the Catholic Church cannot. I know of actions by parishes I have been involved in that are absolutely sickening. That said I still feel I am Catholic, believe in God and will call for a priest on my deathbed. I will also be suspicious of any priest who is around my nephews or their kids until I make that call.

[Danzig]

i thought the issue of criminous clerics was settled way back when with henry the second and thomas a becket. i guess not.

the pope is flat, dead wrong with his persistence that priests should be treated differently just because they are supposedly 'men of god' and are part of the catholic church. and i also think that countries should quit treating the vatican as a country, with an ambassador. hell, they're trying to keep the pope from any questioning by saying he has the same immunity as a former president or other world leader. bullsh!t. the catholic church should receive no more protection than any other business or its leader. it's not a sovereign state, and should not be recognized as such! if bill gates had been committing wrongdoing, would he get a pass? no. would he be subpoenaed in an investigation? absolutely. the pope should have no more standing than bill gates.

i wish i hadn't been raised catholic-i find it an embarrassment to have ever been involved with them. i repudiate them, and their greed and hypocrisy. i follow the golden rule, and have taught my kids the same. that's plenty for me.

[Danzig]

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/t...nt?oid=1065017



The "Pedophile's Paradise"Alaska Natives are accusing the Catholic Church of using their remote villages as a “dumping ground” for child-molesting priests—and blaming the president of Seattle University for letting it happen.


In September 2005, former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger—who'd just become the pope—asked the justice department of the Bush administration to grant him immunity from prosecution in sex-abuse cases in the United States. Ratzinger, the onetime head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was accused of "conspiring to cover up the sexual molestation of three boys by a seminarian" in Texas, according to the Associated Press. Ratzinger had "written in Latin to bishops around the world, explaining that 'grave' crimes such as the sexual abuse of minors would be handled by his congregation. The proceedings of special church tribunals handling the cases were subject to 'pontifical secret,'" Ratzinger's letter said. The Bush administration granted Ratzinger the immunity.

In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $660 million to more than 500 victims of clerical sex abuse.

Why does the church keep sending these priests, who have come to be such a major liability, back into ministry? "It's all about keeping the stores open, keeping the revenue rolling," Wall says. The Alaskan provinces in particular, Wall says, were a source of revenue—not from the Native population living there, but from parishioners in the lower 48 who were encouraged to donate for the Native ministry up north. "You could raise thousands to fund a mission that cost very little to run," Wall says. "The profit margin is huge."